New StatesmanBritain's award-winning current affairs magazineThe price of speaking out- August 13, 2008 Mahboubeh Karami has been languishing in Evin prison since 13 June. Amnesty's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui explains how the journalist and activist ended up in Tehran's notorious jailMahboubeh Karami, 40, is a freelance journalist. She is also active in the Campaign for Equality, a women's rights movement in Iran which calls for reform of laws that discriminate against women and which launched the "One million signatures" campaign in support of this demand. She has been detained in Tehran's Evin...http://www.newstatesman.com/human-rights/2008/08/mahboubeh-karami-june-women Georgia and the Soviet Union- August 13, 2008 Russias moral standing may have been damaged by its invasion of Georgia but it has shown the inability of Western and international powers to face down the use of forceThe longevity of the heavily multi-ethnic former Soviet Union can be partly explained by a federal system that granted degrees of notional autonomy and status. The Soviet constitution even permitted secession for the Union's republics which, of course, included Georgia and Russia. On the other hand, it was understood that...http://www.newstatesman.com/europe/2008/08/georgia-russia-soviet-south Brown and Miliband Left Standing- August 12, 2008 As Nicolas Sarkozy races to Tblisi with his foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, Britain is stuck in the starting blocksThe speed with which the French president has reacted to events in Georgia is impressive. New Labour has always had a blind-spot for foreign affairs (its main players speak no foreign languages and have little knowledge of, or interest in, "abroad"). It is deeply embarrassing that Sarkozy has spoken to Merkel, Berlusconi and "colleagues of Mr Brown". What is going on David...http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/martin-bright/2008/08/foreign-brown-britain-sarkozy Nutsgate - The Plot Thickens- August 12, 2008 Another prominent Tory is drawn into the controversy over donations from the backers of Nuts TVMichael Gove always looked on shaky ground after his comments about the lads magazine Nuts and the end of civilisation. It later turned out that Gove had taken money from a company called Red Fig, one of the backers of Nuts TV, the magazine's broadcast oulet. Now it seems that shadow arts minister Ed Vaizey took 1,500 from Red Fig in thr run-up to the last election. Naughty, naughty. Good ...http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/martin-bright/2008/08/nuts-backers-controversy And the next US vice-president is...- August 12, 2008 The man who would be the next Democrat in the White House is set to announce his running mate and he's doing it in a savvy, theatrical manner...Barack Obama is about to name his running mate, and in whats being claimed as a political first hes eschewing the usual media platforms by announcing it first by email and sms, directly to his subscribers. Its a savvy and theatrical move by one of the most socially networked political candidates in history. Already spread across facebook, twitter,...http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/culture-tech/2008/08/running-mate-savvy-theatrical New Statesman Ownership Battle- August 12, 2008 A diary entry from January 1976 demonstrates the prominent part the NS has always played in UK politics I've just been re-reading Bernard Donoughue's Downing Street Diary and stumbled across the following entry: Tuesday 20 January 1976"I raised the question of the future of the New Statesman with him. Its circulation is now down to 33,000 and he wants Kissin and Lever to buy it. He had told Kissin he would do the negotaition, but now wants to stay out of it and let them do it." ...http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/martin-bright/2008/08/january-1976-entry-kissin What is quality of life- August 12, 2008 The challenge of deciding how we should decide who deserves treatment from an NHS of finite resources. Martin O'Neill on whether the body responsible, NICE, gets it rightIt cannot be an easy or pleasant job to inform terminally ill cancer patients they will be denied access to effective drugs that have the capacity to extend their lives by months or years. Moreover, in a society with a publicly funded health service, it is particularly difficult to justify the denial of effective treatment to..http://www.newstatesman.com/health/2008/08/life-nice-treatment-nhs-health Hijab, the dress code for Muslim women- August 12, 2008 Zubia Malik from the UK Community of Submitters writes why she stopped wearing the Hijab... The first step seemed somewhat simple for me: wear the hijab (veil) and that would be making a statement to me and to others that I am a true Muslim woman.' Modest and dignified. I know for a lot of women embracing Islam that this is fundamental to their journey because either their understanding from the Hadith and Sunna (what is understood to be the practices of the Prophet Muhammad) ...http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-faith-column/2008/08/muslim-women-hijab-dress Caring for Japan's elderly- August 12, 2008 Professor Manami Hori, of Tokai University explains how they approach care for the elderly in Japan - the country with the world's highest longevity - with a form of social insuranceIn Japan, care and support were long considered a family responsibility. In fact, it has been generally expected that daughters-in-law would take care of parents, and wives would care for their husbands. However, as Japans elderly population is growing at an unprecedented pace, it has become difficult to rely solely.http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2008/08/japan-elderly-care-insurance Picturing Kenya- August 11, 2008 The world has all but forgotten about the turmoil that engulfed Kenya in the wake of the 2007 elections. But the effects linger - as documented in these dramatic picture galleries Click on an image below to view the audio slideshow Praying Enough Together Peter Kariuki is a dead man walking. Since fleeing from the ethnic violence that followed last years Kenyan presidential election Peter has been ...http://www.newstatesman.com/africa/2008/08/kenya-camp-peter-nakuru-during |